Police in Schools: The Return of a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Idea

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In the aftermath of last month’s horrific shooting in Florida, many young people and community leaders are searching feverishly for ways to improve safety and reduce violence in schools.

They have suggested improving the instant background check system for prospective gun buyers, a nationwide ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and increasing access to mental health services for young people.

Amid all these good suggestions, one horrible idea keeps resurfacing: increasing the number of armed police and security guards in schools. In this blog, I want to share three reasons why more police in schools actually makes our children less safe.

It misuses money that could be invested in proven solutions, like hiring more school counselors. It feeds the school to prison pipeline, especially for people of color, and it doesn’t achieve its primary goal of making schools safer.

Policymakers are 100% justified in their determination to make our schools safer, and the young people leading this movement—from Florida to California—are inspiring and courageous. We should support them by advocating for ideas that work and abandoning the failed strategy of militarizing our classrooms.